Breed question...

steadfast_siren · Aug 7, 2005

Okay guys, after looking through some of the breed standards, I'm thinking that our new kitty Toby (or Rory, we find out in a week or so) is a Maine Coon breed... but i'm fairly new to the cat scene, and really am just basing this off of other peoples photos of their kittens...

So, i figured i'd ask here, and see if anyone had any other reccomendations, you guys know much more about cats and kittens than I could ever hope to learn

I can tell that he is going to be a mid-long hair cat, his fur is allready about 3/4" at its longest point and he has an allready "poofy" tail lol. His fur is extremely soft, darker grey on the tips growing lighter towards the skin, um... he has tufts coming from his ears allready, and his entire belly is tiger striped white and grey just like the front of his legs.

I appreciate it in advance!
~*Kate*~

Pics of toby (rory)

hopehacker · Aug 7, 2005

He could have Maine Coon in him. I doubt he's a purebred Maine Coon. He's really cute, though, and that picture of your Pomerainan with him is adorable.

deb25 · Aug 7, 2005

Kate,

More often than not, you do not acquire a purebred cat from a shelter or other adoption venue. Breeders sell them, and for quite a bit of money. He may have some Maine Coon in him, but more than likely he is a mix.

steadfast_siren · Aug 7, 2005

Oh guys I know!! Sorry, probably should have mentioned that. I know for a fact that hes a mix, just dont know of what LOL. Its just easier to narrow it down to a possible 1-2 breeds so when im filling out paperwork etc (vet, insurance, base registration etc..) that I can give them an answer instead of "mix breed."

Sorry for the confusion!! LOL. But i feel better knowing i was at least on the right track w/ maine coon! LOL

elizwithcat · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by steadfast_siren

Oh guys I know!! Sorry, probably should have mentioned that. I know for a fact that hes a mix, just dont know of what LOL. Its just easier to narrow it down to a possible 1-2 breeds so when im filling out paperwork etc (vet, insurance, base registration etc..) that I can give them an answer instead of "mix breed."

Sorry for the confusion!! LOL. But i feel better knowing i was at least on the right track w/ maine coon! LOL

There is no way to say whether he has any Maine Coon in him. He might have absolutely none. List him as a mixed breed. I believe the insurance is going to be cheaper that way, or there will be less exclusions.

loveysmummy · Aug 7, 2005

Well, he's obviously a cute little tabby

I would simply list him as a DMH or DLH Tabby. This is simply likely what he is if you got him from a shelter or anywhere that wasn't a breeder.
But he sure is a cutie

elizwithcat · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

Well, he's obviously a cute little tabby

I would simply list him as a DMH or DLH Tabby. This is simply likely what he is if you got him from a shelter or anywhere that wasn't a breeder.
But he sure is a cutie

Yes. When i was looking into getting pet insurance, I found out that apparently are exlcusions because my cats are persians, even though when the company sells the insurance, I won't even be told about that. There are no reasons to come up with a breed for a domestic cat, considering breeds might have specific genetic diseases that might be excluded from the coverage.

rosehawke · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by steadfast_siren

Oh guys I know!! Sorry, probably should have mentioned that. I know for a fact that hes a mix, just dont know of what LOL. Its just easier to narrow it down to a possible 1-2 breeds so when im filling out paperwork etc (vet, insurance, base registration etc..) that I can give them an answer instead of "mix breed."

Sorry for the confusion!! LOL. But i feel better knowing i was at least on the right track w/ maine coon! LOL

Well, what you do is you put down "DMH" (Domestic Medium Hair)

.

When it gets right down to it, 99.9% of the cat population is probably "mixed breeds" from the get-go, meaning that there's no such thing as an identifiable "breed" anwhere in their ancestry.

Maine Coons as a registered, pedigreed breed only really came into existence in the 1950's and 60's despite the fact that the cat who won Best in Show at the first cat show in America in 1881 was classified as a Maine Coon. They lost popularity with the importation of the more showy Persians and only a handful of breeders were working with them through this time period. As a matter of fact, CFA did not recognize the breed until 1976.

What I'm trying to say is that any cat, anywhere, can look like a Coon without having a drop of MC blood in him. For instance, there's also the Norwegian Forest Cat, and the Russian equivalent, the Siberian. The only sure way to tell is if you absolutely know the parentage which is unlikely with any rescue. They could just as easily get the coat from a Persian somewhere back in their ancestry ... or not. For some reason a lot of people seem to put a lot of importance on ear-tufts, but there are other breeds with tufting, and not all MC's have good tufting --- even from good breeding. Melichus(RB) had no ear tufts, and his coat wasn't as shaggy as it should have been, yet his dam was a Champion, his sire was a Triple Grand Champion and Sire of Merit. It's the roll of the genetic dice.

To be absolutely correct, you would say a cat such as yours was a "Maine Coon Type," meaning it looks like one, but that's the best you know.

steadfast_siren · Aug 7, 2005

Thanks guys.

We inhreited him (her) from two friends of ours, who after keeping him for 2 days realized they were severely allergic, They basically got him out of the paper i believe. I was kind of upset that they got him as early as they did (6 weeks, 1 day old) and feared that he would have a lot of seperation anxiety and still be in the process of his "learning" (litter box, dry food, social skills etc...) but he seems to be doing okay. Piper (our 1 yro pom) has helped tremendously. Any time Toby cries, she is right there, they sleep together, eat together, and are totally insperable lol. Toby cries the entire time piper goes out to go potty, its discusting LOL. I think he has really latched onto her, and she has become "mommy" to him.

I'm having a hard time convincing my best friend (the one who gave up toby) that the cat is ours, not theirs. They dropped by yesterday, out of the blue, to play with the cat... keep referring to it as "our toby" etc... I've made several comments about him being "our new kitten" and sent pictures with an announcement about our "newest family member"... but they have yet to get the picture. I hate to think i'm going to have to come out and just say "Look, you guys didnt want him, he's ours, so quit referring to him as your kitten." because i know it wont go over too well... *grr*

Anyways, wow that was a vent LOL. Sorry about that. But I appreciate all of the comments about the breed! Its really not important to us that he have a "breed name" or anything, purebreds and mixes are loveable all the same, just wanted to see if i was on the right track.

Thanks!!
*HUGS*
~*Kate*~

elizwithcat · Aug 7, 2005

Originally Posted by steadfast_siren

Thanks guys.

We inhreited him (her) from two friends of ours, who after keeping him for 2 days realized they were severely allergic, They basically got him out of the paper i believe. I was kind of upset that they got him as early as they did (6 weeks, 1 day old) and feared that he would have a lot of seperation anxiety and still be in the process of his "learning" (litter box, dry food, social skills etc...) but he seems to be doing okay. Piper (our 1 yro pom) has helped tremendously. Any time Toby cries, she is right there, they sleep together, eat together, and are totally insperable lol. Toby cries the entire time piper goes out to go potty, its discusting LOL. I think he has really latched onto her, and she has become "mommy" to him.

I'm having a hard time convincing my best friend (the one who gave up toby) that the cat is ours, not theirs. They dropped by yesterday, out of the blue, to play with the cat... keep referring to it as "our toby" etc... I've made several comments about him being "our new kitten" and sent pictures with an announcement about our "newest family member"... but they have yet to get the picture. I hate to think i'm going to have to come out and just say "Look, you guys didnt want him, he's ours, so quit referring to him as your kitten." because i know it wont go over too well... *grr*

Anyways, wow that was a vent LOL. Sorry about that. But I appreciate all of the comments about the breed! Its really not important to us that he have a "breed name" or anything, purebreds and mixes are loveable all the same, just wanted to see if i was on the right track.

Thanks!!
*HUGS*
~*Kate*~

I think it's absolutely clear he is a pom puppy.

Your pom sure thinks so.

steadfast_siren · Aug 7, 2005

ROFLMAO! Yes LOL. Piper is our spoiled rotten baby (hence the baby blanket I made just for her LOL) Shes a purebred pom pup, just shy of 1 1/2 years old. Her and toby are too cute. I've spent all day snapping random pictures lol. When i left them downstairs they were both sleeping, and piper was on her back and toby was sprawled out on pipers tummy... they make me sick LOL. I have a feeling there is SO much more i'm going to learn about BOTH their personalities LOL. Its nuts, i sit here and talk about Toby like he's been with us for forever, when we've had piper for over a year, and Toby for less than 3 days! LOL.

tailsoluv · Aug 7, 2005

Maine Coons are a natural breed. They were merely domestic longhairs which people decided to perpetuate as a breed and created a standard for that breed. It is extremely unlikely that there is ANY Maine Coon in this kitten. Unlike dog people who tie their unspayed bitches up outside when they are in heat and have them accidently get bred by a neighborhood dog, cat people don't ever allow their pedigreed animals outside. Therefore, the only way one could get a Maine Coon mix is if a breeder either bred Maine Coons and another breed or had Maine Coons and an unneutered mixed breed cat in the house and had an early accidental breeding.

Most people think that semi-longhaired or longhaired tabbies = Maine Coon. NOT!!! What you have is a very pretty little kitten to enjoy and love. These are the kinds of cats we refer to as "Mainly Coons"

Barb A.

wellingtoncats · Aug 7, 2005

He is a Domestic Longhair

(We don't have "medium" hairs in our association - stupid term IMO)

imagyne · Aug 8, 2005

Originally Posted by steadfast_siren

Okay guys, after looking through some of the breed standards, I'm thinking that our new kitty Toby (or Rory, we find out in a week or so) is a Maine Coon breed... but i'm fairly new to the cat scene, and really am just basing this off of other peoples photos of their kittens...

So, i figured i'd ask here, and see if anyone had any other reccomendations, you guys know much more about cats and kittens than I could ever hope to learn

I can tell that he is going to be a mid-long hair cat, his fur is allready about 3/4" at its longest point and he has an allready "poofy" tail lol. His fur is extremely soft, darker grey on the tips growing lighter towards the skin, um... he has tufts coming from his ears allready, and his entire belly is tiger striped white and grey just like the front of his legs.

I appreciate it in advance!
~*Kate*~

Unfortunately, There is but a few of us who actually know feline genetics really really well... I happen to not be one of them. In any case, no one can really answer your question properly without knowing what the background is of the parents, (as well as the parents themselves).... So, Your cat is mixed with whatever he looks like to you he's mixed with, sounds kinda harsh I know, but different people will see different things, so the best thing to do is go with your gut.

I am now closing this thread.

Breed question...

steadfast_siren

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hopehacker

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